‘Dragon Ball’ Returns With First New Animated Series in 18 Years

The ubiquity of Dragon Ball series and films make it feel as if Goku and co. never really left, but the Z Fighters (Or is it GT? Are there names?) are finally back in an official capacity after nearly two decades. Production has officially begun on a new Japanese series Dragon Ball Super, picking up where the prior series of films left off.

Per Entertainment Weekly, production has officially begun on the new series, which takes place some time after the events of the film Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection “F” and will debut in Japan this July. For the moment at least, no details are yet known of an American re-release, the way Cartoon Network re-dubbed and popularized the series stateside.

According to Toei Animation, Super will pick up after Goku’s battle with Majin Buu as he “attempts to maintain Earth’s fragile peace.” Notably, original Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama will oversee the new series under Fuji Television.

Dragon Ball last debuted new episodes with the mid-’90s GT series, while 2009's Dragon Ball Kai largely repackaged old Dragon Ball Z episodes. Can U.S. adaptations of Dragon Ball Super be far behind, given the franchise popularity?